So you've written a book. Now, how do you get it published?: 5 Tips for Aspiring Authors
Most published authors have been asked for advice by people contemplating publishing a book. I get it. The mere thought of it can be daunting and who better to ask than someone who has done it before? Believe me, I've been in your position before.
So, in an effort to help you, I'm going to give you some tools to help you on your pending publishing journey. 5 Tips for Aspiring Authors
Let me preface these tips by giving you one hard truth that some people seeking advice hate to hear, "If you're not willing to do the research to become a self published author, you should hire someone to do it for you, or submit your manuscript(s) to a publishing company. It is called "self-published" because it requires you to "do it yourself". It is relatively easy to self publish a book these days, but publishing is maybeeeeeee 1/10th of what's important. What's important you ask? Content, genre, and exposure! But, I'll cover THAT another time. Today, we talk about the basics of getting published."
Before we start: These tips are for people with finished manuscripts (novels, books, whatever you want to call your finished work). I am a writer, but I am a fiction writer. Not a writing coach. Unfortunately, if you need help with the completion of your manuscript, direction, etc., I am not the right resource for you. (Though you may find these tips helpful in the future) Everything I'm about to advise below was obtained via Google. I'm 100% sure you can find help for whatever you're looking for, via a Google search. I promise!
5 Tips for Aspiring Authors
Edit it: One of the key mistakes I made as a new author, and at times as a seasoned author, is not properly editing my manuscript. I don't mean just making sure the spelling is correct or that you've used the correct punctuation either. Editing is more involved than that, and there are various forms of editing that are required. If you were really good in English in school, you may be able to follow tips from these 3 websites to get your manuscript up to snuff for publishing. 10 Ways to Edit your Own Book, Mastering The 3 Stages of Manuscript Editing, and How To Edit A Book. You can also use free software like Grammarly to aid in your editing process, but there's nothing like a human editor. Even some of the best writers, who think they are awesome wordsmiths, turn out to be slack editors without realizing it. (🙋🏿I've been guilty of this). There are a ton of paid services that can provide quality editing if you choose. You can probably find some great ones through